Orphan
by Anonymous-Trouble-Maker
Summary: Horatio's sidearm goes missing,and is found in the hands an orphan.
1. Chapter 1

When_ he heard the explosion off in the distance,the twelve year old boy picked up his feet to head towards it. But by the time he got there,everyone was gone,the squad car's fire had been put out,and the scene itself was left a mess. _

_A glint of metal struck his eyes,and he walked towards it. Sitting on the ground in front of his feet was a 45.,it's clip full but unspent,with more unspent bullets scattered around it. _

_He_ _picked it up and immediately realized that he could use it for hunting. He gathered the bullets in a small bag he had sewn together with old pieces of cloth and ran,leaving small footprints in the dirt._

* * *

When Eric came into Horatio's office to deliver his most recent findings,he did not at all expect to see the place such a mess. Papers and boxes were anywhere but where they should have been,and somewhere in the mess was his boss.

''Damn it,where the hell did I put it?''Horatio grumbled as he tore his desk drawers apart.

''Uh,H? What are you looking for?''

''My sidearm. I haven't seen it since the squad car exploded. I lost it after the explosion.''

''Have you gone back to the scene? Maybe you left it there.''

Horatio sighed and stopped to consider this,and he eventually decided that there was a slim chance it was still at the docks.

''Fine. Let's go,''he responded finally as he stepped over the mess.

''What about this?''Eric nodded towards the office.

''I'll have Ryan O.C.D. it for me.''

Eric chuckled. ''Okay.''

They left the department and headed to the docks. Horatio wasn't very confident about finding his gun and was afraid he would have to have a new one issued. Having a new sidearm issued was going to come with a fee.

Eric pulled over near the scene and lifted the yellow tape as Horatio followed.

Horatio looked around for a while until he ventured over to what was left of the squad car.

''Eric,do you have your camera with you?''

''In the back of the hummer. Why?''he asked,approaching his boss. Horatio pointed to a void in the dirt. ''This is why.''

Eric could clearly see where Horatio's .45 was once sitting,along with where the dispersed bullets should have been. There were also small footprints in the dirt.

''Looks like a kid ran off with it.'' ''What would a child want with a gun?''Horatio asked quietly. Suddenly a gunshot echoed,followed by another,and out of the corner of his eye,Eric saw a bird fall from the sky. Then the radio went off.

_''Shots fired near Tamiami Trail.''_

''If it isn't one thing,It's another,''Horatio grumbled.

He and Eric quickly drove off to the trail. When they got there,there were already a few squad cars parked on the road. Horatio was quick to approach the only officer standing by the car.

''What's going on?''

''Officer Matthew's headed after him. We pulled up and saw a kid run off.'' Horatio sighed. Something just told him this wouldn't end well.

* * *

Matthew was tearing through the grass for the child. Now,any other time he would run fast,of course,but he knew who the shooter was.

Suddenly long black hair came into view,and Matt lashed out violently,grabbing the boy's arm and yanking him back. A loud crack echoed fallowed by a scream.

The boy went still and then collapsed to the ground crying,clutching his arm. ''Oh,get up. You're fine.'' He pulled the boy up by the broken limb,causing him to cry out more.

''LET ME GO!''

Matt pulled him closer and forced the child to look up at him. ''I thought Mom had gotten rid of you. I didn't think she'd let you live.''

The child turned his head away,as if in shame,and Matthew sneered.

* * *

When Horatio heard the scream,he knew something was wrong. But he couldn't go after Matt. He had to stay with the hummer. Then he saw Matt storming out of the trees with a child. Matt was quick to make it look like he was handling him gently.

''I need to head back to the lab,''Horatio informed Eric. The Cuban nodded and watched him drive away as Calleigh,Ryan,and Natalia were pulling forward.

* * *

**_Please review!_**

**_Chapter 2 will be up soon._**


	2. Chapter 2

When Horatio headed down to the lobby to talk with the child Matthew had apprehended,he noticed two things;one,Matthew was sitting in the interrogation room and the child was sitting in the waiting area,and two,the child had his arm in a cast with a sling.

Yelina came up behind him and handed him a folder. ''Why,might I ask,is officer Matthew sitting in the interrogation room?''

''Vincent Valentine,the name of the boy,was injured in the process of Matthew dragging him to the car.''

Horatio opened the folder. Inside was an X-ray of the child's arm. There was a sigh of disapproval,and then he looked up at the injured child.

''Where are his shoes?''he asked as he saw Vincent's bare and scratched feet.

''He doesn't have any. Vincent is saying his family never provided him with any. When he was five,the family threw him out of the house and moved to Chicago.''

''So how does Matthew fit into this?''

''They're blood related. Brothers.''

Horatio didn't need to hear anymore. He just stalked into the interrogation room.

Matthew looked up at Horatio when the redhead didn't speak.

''What do you want?''Matt finally snapped.

''You know my feelings on police brutality.'' Horatio set the x-ray down in front of Matthew.

''Should this mean anything to me?''he asked.

''You are normally quite gentle with children. I was wondering why you would go so far as to break this one's arm.''

''Is it my fault he resisted?''

Horatio glared at him and then dumped a pile of papers down in front of him. Matthew shoved them away instantly,catching Horatio's attention even more.

''What's wrong,afraid to review your family history? Sidearm and badge on the table please.''

* * *

Alexx was looking for Horatio when she spotted Vincent sitting alone in the waiting area.

Vincent didn't even look up when she sat down next to him. He just sat perfectly still,afraid to look at her. Women scared him,and that was because of his mother.

His mother never had a kind heart towards him. She was physically and verbally abusive,and always stomping his hopes into the ground.

Alexx reached over and brushed his bangs out of his face. Vincent visibly flinched. ''It's okay. You can trust me.'' Vincent looked up at her,and Alexx was shocked to find herself staring into one blue eye,and one black eye.

Vincent blinked and looked away,having just remembered that his irises were two different colors.

Alexx shook her head quickly to clear her mind and then turned in her chair slightly to face him. Her actions caused him to look at her again,and this time Alexx noticed a scar.

The scar streaked down from just above the eye to the cheek.

''What...happened...?''

''...Mother...she...I was hungry one night and went into the kitchen to ask her for something small,and I guess I was in the way of the knife when she turned...''

_''Mommy,I'm hungry.''_

_''That's nice. Are you done with the floors?''his mother replied,her back turned as she stood at the counter cleaning up from dinner._

_''Yeah...Can I have something to eat?'' Vincent hadn't eaten in days._

_''No.''_

_''But I'm hungry!'' Melissa whipped around,and the knife in her hand caught his eye,obliterating it,and eliciting a scream._

_Melissa stood and did nothing. Her husband remained in the living room drinking and reading the paper._

_Matthew heard the scream,too,but he didn't budge from his video games. _

_So he took off for the front door. But his mother was close on his heels and she grabbed his arm. ''Where do you think you're going? You have a floor to clean up!''she screamed as she pointed to the massive puddle of blood._

_Vincent took his free hand away from his eye and swung it hard,creating a bloody hand print on his mother's face. His hand smeared blood all over her face,and Melissa's eyes widened._

_''YOU CLEAN IT!''_

_Melissa was in too much shock from being slapped by her son to stop him from leaving._

_Daniel launched up from his chair and darted for his wife as she mentally froze and dropped to her knees. Matthew ran out of the house,chasing his little brother. Vincent screamed as loud as he could,at the world it seemed,as his brother caught him and began to endlessly swing his fist. _

_The world blackened around him,and in the distance sirens blared.  
_

''I went to the hospital,and someone there decided to give up half of his eyesight,''Vincent motioned towards his blue eye,''Didn't think it was possible.

Alexx gently squeezed his shoulder and stood. ''Well,you seem okay now.''

Vincent shrugged. ''For now.''

* * *

''I must admit that I was hoping you'd be different from the rest of your family when I hired you. I guess I was wrong.''

''The kid doesn't mean a thing to me.''

''I understand that,but that does not give you the right to break his arm.''

Matthew sighed and watched as Horatio opened up a file filled with pictures of his parents as children. They too had suffered abuse. But not to the extent that Vincent had.

''Now,here's what gets me...Your parents and their parents before them suffered abuse. You are born,and they don't lay a finger on you. Why?''

''They promised themselves they wouldn't raise me like they had been raised.''

''Yet Vincent is born and you watched them beat him,which is just as good as being abused yourself. You see mom and dad knocking the little brother around,and you take after them since you want some attention,too.''

Matt launched up and glared. ''THAT IS NOT TRUE!''

Horatio pointed towards the small child in the lobby. Matthew looked at Vincent,and Horatio visibly saw his teeth grind.

''You sure about that? Because judging from what I'm seeing,''Matthew's head whipped around to look at his boss,''You want nothing more than to hit him because I bet that your thinking it's his fault you're in trouble.''

Matt's eyes widened. Horatio had hit the nail on the head.

''Now. Sit.''

''Whatever just give me my damn suspension and let me go.''

Horatio smiled and chuckled lightly as he picked up the badge,''I'm afraid,''he picked up the sidearm,''this mistake just cost you your job. Get out.''

''You can't do that!''

''I can always have security drag you out of here. Your choice.''

Matt's fists tightened until the knuckles were white before he stomped out. He didn't go for the front door like Horatio had hoped. Instead he made a u-turn for his little brother. Alexx stopped him.

''I don't think so.''

Matt went to swing his fist,and that was when Horatio stepped in to help.

''I wouldn't.''

Matt snarled.

''Alexx,get him out of here.'' The brunette grabbed Vincent and rushed him away.

Matthew punched Horatio,and the redhead retaliated,his fist connecting with Matthew's face,knocking him to the floor. Matt's glasses went flying.

''I said get out,and I meant it.'' Matt picked up his glasses and stood,and whipping the blood away from his nose he left.

* * *

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_**


	3. Chapter 3

Vincent's eyes scanned Horatio carefully as the man went about his day. Vincent watched his body language,payed attention to his attitude towards his team,watched his expressions,and listened to his voice.

Vincent could often be found scanning him,trying to decide if he was worth trusting. Vincent saw kindness in his eyes,but he also saw a lost world in them. One that he could tell Horatio never spoke of. Horatio,to Vincent,was a good man with sad eyes. The redhead almost seemed like a grounded angel.

Horatio often felt that way,too. But he never spoke a word of his feelings. The team could never tell how he was feeling,or what he was hiding. But Vincent wasn't blind like them.

He saw the smile Horatio wore at work was nothing more than a mask. The truth was that the man was lonely. The ring on his finger was bent slightly,and cracked. Such signs showed no care for the ring.

The man was married once,he could tell. He could also tell that he wore the ring with the faintest hopes that his love would come back.

Vincent had,in the years of living alone in the fields and forests learned from a distance what to search for in a person.

That fake smile wouldn't do. Vincent wanted to make the man smile for real. He didn't want to see a mask every time he looked at him.

MDPD had decided to keep Vincent in custody until his parents showed up.

* * *

It was weeks before Vincent's mother showed up. She had been in no hurry to get to Miami. Over those several weeks,Vincent had been living with Alexx so he could receive medical attention when necessary.

Horatio greeted Melissa at the door.

''You want to tell me why I got called back here?''she demanded.

Horatio sighed. ''I called you so you could come get your son.'' Melissa's head turned towards the child sitting quietly in the back of the lobby.

''You called me to come get that thing?'' Horatio wouldn't lie if someone asked him. Her words stung.

''That boy is nothing to me.''

''If you didn't want him,then why didn't you put him in foster care?''Horatio asked curiously.

Melissa stiffened and as if with pride,she spat,''because that would have given him hope. He does not deserve the air he breathes. I'd rather see his lungs ripped from his chest before I would even think about taking him home.''

Horatio was stiff now,as was everyone else in the lobby,as the woman stormed out.

But while the others wore expressions of shock,Horatio wore a pained expression. Her words were hash and were spoken without fear or resentment. She meant every word she'd spoken.

Melissa Valentine reminded Horatio of his father.

Vincent had heard his mother's words. They had bothered him,too. Not to the extent that they bothered Horatio,but enough that they put him in tears.

Vincent felt his eyes water heavily as he began to cry.

Horatio was wrenched from his thoughts at the sound of crying. He turned and saw Vincent,the child's head buried in his hands.

Horatio gasped silently. He hated seeing children shed tears. Quietly he neared the child. Pulling him into his arms allowed Vincent to weep silently,his tears soaking Horatio's shoulder.

The redhead pulled him closer,knowing full well that the boy did not deserve the treatment he'd received from his mother.

To Vincent,Horatio's arms felt like a warm blanket that he didn't want to crawl out from under.

Horatio guided the child to his office,where the boy curled up on the couch. Horatio sighed as he sat down at his desk to begin filling out paperwork,leaning on one hand the entire time.

Vincent sighed. Having nothing more to do,since his mother had rejected him in front of practically the entire department,he began staring at Horatio again. His mind wandered,as did his sight to the surgical scar near his right eye.

The scar not only caught his attention,but it forced him to look at the right eye itself. Vincent slowly sat up as realization hit him. Horatio's right eye was not blue.

Instead it took a dull mechanical gray appearance. As the redhead's eyes darted across the various papers across his desk,the child saw what looked like a few small gears turn and spin. Vincent thought for a minute,then decided to get up from the couch.

''Where are you going?''

''Bathroom,''he answered quickly as he left the office.

In the restroom,Vincent stared at his reflection in the mirror. When he was born,both of his were black. He faintly remembered the day in the hospital when he had been told someone had given up half of their eyesight for him.

Now,after the surgery,he stared at the blue eye that had been implanted.

He suddenly found it hard to believe that someone would seriously give up part of their eyesight just for him.

Burying his face in his hands out of confusion and misunderstanding,he peeked through his fingers at the mirror as another tear slipped from his blue eye.

* * *

_**Please review!**_

_**Anyone wanna guess who gave up half of their eyesight? (Even though I made it pretty damn obvious?) **_


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